Ruth Louise Allen (1903-1985)
Ruth Louise Allen was born October 3, 1903 at Berkley, Virginia and died October 22, 1985 at Royal, North Carolina (south of Aurora). She was the eldest daughter of Sylvester Ruffus Allen & Faith Wilbur Ostrander. She married William Crawford Bonner, son of Thomas Pasteur Bonner & Eula Lee Hooker on June 2, 1923 at South Norfolk, Virginia. Biography Early Years Ruth was born at Berkley, Virginia, but the Allen's moved quite often between Berkley, Portsmouth and Norfolk, before settling down at 221 Charleston Ave., in Portsmouth, Virginia around 1909. Ruth's father, Ruffus Allen was a railcar repairer/builder. He worked hard at the Atlantic & Danville Railroad and died young in 1914 from nephritis when Ruth was only 10 years old. Her mother, Faith had to go to work at the Tidewater Knitting Mill close to where they lived. Ruth had to quit school and take care of the home, while her brother, Dick had to quit school as well and begin working to help support the household at the age of 8. Ruth use to talk about opening a can of beans for supper and living in poverty. Their youngest sibling, Tess had to be sent to Faith's grand-uncle & aunt Jay & Fannie Ostrander in Albany, New York; they had no children of their own. By December of 1915 Faith had remarried to John Gatling, a close friend of Ruffus, who also worked at the railroad at the time repairing railcars. Ruth continued her education at the Oscar F. Smith High School. By 1922 the Gatling's had moved to 100 Jackson Ave., in South Norfolk, Virginia, close by the home that Faith's mother, Harriet Louise Ostrander lived at, on the corner of Jackson & Holly Avenues. Adult Life Ruth's brother, Dick had a tennis court that he and his co-worker, William Crawford "W.C." Bonner use to play at often. One day, W.C. came to visit and Ruth answered the door and said that Dick was not home. He told her he had not come to visit Dick, but had come to see her. On June 2, 1923, Ruth & W.C. married in South Norfolk. It was soon after that Ruth had two half-sisters, Carolyn Wilbur & Marian Jeanette Gatling. They lived a few years in Portlock, a community in South Norfolk, south of Berkley. Their home was located at the current 1133 Virginia Avenue. It was there that they had their first four children, William Crawford, Jr. "Bill", Teresa Raye "Tessie", Wilbur Lee and Richard Thomas "Tommy". W.C. worked at the Royster Fertilizer plant in Norfolk, taking care of the finances. By late 1929 they had moved to Colonial Heights, Virginia, after the Stock Market Crash. W.C. worked for the fertilizer plant in Petersburg, Virginia. Before long, W.C. started a trucking company. Dick Allen lived with them for a while and he was employed with W.C.'s trucking company. Dick eventually moved out and got a place of his on in Matoaca, Virginia. By 1935, the company had to be shut down, due to finances. There had been several truck accidents as well as some alleged mafia involvement trying to shut down the company. While in Petersburg, W.C. & Ruth had two more children, a girl who died at birth and Janet Ann. By 1936 the Bonner's had moved in with W.C.'s parents, Tom & Eula Bonner in Idalia, south of Aurora, North Carolina to help run Tom's general store, on the corner of West & Idalia roads. A year later they moved to a place of their own in Gum Swamp, on the corner of Bay City & Bateman roads. And soon after they moved to Royal, south of Aurora, into a Wcbonnerfamily1.jpg|Ann, Lee, Ruth H., Ruth B., Bill, W.C., Tommy and Tessie Ruthallenbonner4 closeup.jpg Ruthallenbonner2.jpg Wcruthbonner eastersunday1980.jpg|W.C. & Ruth Bonner Bonnerfamily1a.jpg|Lee, Bill, Tommy, W.C., Ruth B., Ann, Ruth H. and Tessie. Bill&ruthbonner1a.jpg|W.C. & Ruth Bonner Wcbonnerstore1.jpg|The Bonner's home/store in Royal, NC. Wc&ruthbonner 59thweddinganniversary1.jpg|Ruth & W.C. Bonner at their 59th Anniversary Dublingrovebaptistchurch nov1955.jpg|Dublin Grove Freewill Baptist Church of Royal, NC. large, two-story home on Bay City road, just before turning off to Royal highway, where they remained the majority of their lives. W.C. & Ruth both operated a general store for years, within their home. They began attending Dublin Grove Freewill Baptist Church, in September of 1940, where they continued to attend the rest of their lives. W.C. was a Deacon (and later Head Deacon), Sunday School Superintendent and teacher. There in Royal they had their last child, Ruth Allen Bonner. After the breakout of World War II, the Bonner's moved back, for a short while, to Portsmouth. They lived on Kirby Avenue and W.C. was a crane operator at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. By November 1945 they had returned to their home in Royal, North Carolina. Ruth died October 22, 1985 at her home in Royal due to Pancreatic cancer. She was buried October 23 at High Hill Cemetery in Aurora. Personal Information Family Faithostrander4.jpg|Faith Ostrander Allen Gatling Marthajett1a.jpg|Martha Clayton Allen Jett Ruth Bonner's parents were Sylvester Ruffus Allen & Faith Wilbur Ostrander. Her step-father was John Odeon Gatling. Her paternal grandparents were Sylvester Joseph Allen & Martha Thomas Clayton Allen Jett. Her paternal step-grandmother was Fannie Etta Blow Allen and her paternal step-grandfather was Daniel Warren Jett. Her maternal grandparents were Abraham Cline "Abram" Ostrander & Harriet Louise Ostrander. She had nine siblings total, Richard Cline "Dick" Allen, Teresa May "Tess" Allen and two miscarried Allen siblings, one between her and Dick and the other between Dick and Tess. She also had 5 Gatling siblings, Carolyn Wilbur Gatling and Marian Jeanette Gatling, and then three miscarried Gatling siblings, one before Carolyn, one between Carolyn and Marian, and then one after Marian. Her husband was William Crawford "W.C." Bonner, son of Thomas Pasteur "Tom" Bonner & Eula Lee Hooker. She had one sister-in-law, Eula Ray Bonner. Together W.C. & Ruth Bonner had 7 children, William Crawford, Jr. "Bill", Teresa Raye "Tess", Wilbur Lee, Richard Thomas "Tommy", Janet Ann and Ruth Allen Bonner, along with one miscarried sibling between Tommy & Ann. They had a total of 22 grandchildren and a continuously growing number of great-grandchildren and even further generations. Appearance She was around 5'3" in height, was medium/heavy built, had brown eyes, dark brown hair and olive complexion. Personality Ruth came from a family ravaged by alcoholism, her Granddaddy Allen, and Uncle Jesse and Uncle Fred (and perhaps even her father, Ruffus) all having been addicted during their life. Whether or not her father was, is unknown. I have never been told so. Ruth was ardently against alcohol, having seen it's destructive capabilities in her own family. Ruth was a Godly woman, and a pleasant, loving wife, mother and grandmother. She was a lot of fun and was usually smiling. She did everything she could to take care of the men in her family by the things she did. She would freely give out homemade potato chips to her grandchildren who she loved dearly. And she always had an endless supply of bananas for banana sandwiches. And sometimes she would send her grandsons out to find sassafras roots to make tea out of. Ruth was gentle in the way she corrected her children, but she was firm and you knew she meant business. There was no playing around if she said something. Ruth practiced on the piano a lot when she was younger, before marrying Bill. She only had 6 months of lessons, but she could play masterfully. She loved to play hymns but also loved to play rag-time (such as the "Burning of Rome") upon request. At Christmas time the family would get together and sing Christmas carols with Ruth playing the piano. Ruth was sometimes blunt in what she said. If it was the truth, there was no need in beating around the bush with it; she spoke the God's honest truth. She tended to see the best in everybody, though. Marriagecertificate williamcrawfordbonner ruthlouisallen1.jpg|William Crawford Bonner & Ruth Louise Allen Marriage License Death ruth louise allen (bonner).jpg|Ruth Allen Bonner Death Certificate Obituary ruthlouiseallen(bonner).jpg|Ruth A. Bonner Obituary